Following the incident with the two ships hit by drones in the Black Sea, east of the town of Byala, extraordinary inspections of seawater were carried out by order of the Minister of Environment and Water Rositsa Karamfilova. Experts of the Basin Directorate "Black Sea Region" – Varna and the Regional Laboratories of the External Environmental Agency took samples of sea water at three points along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, the Ministry of Environment and Water announced.
The sampling covered the bay “Bolata“ in the municipality of Kavarna, the area of the fishing and yacht port in the town of Byala in the Varna region and the cape “St. Atanas“, as well as “Paradise Bay“ in Sozopol.
No oil stains were observed during the inspections, and the sea water was clean and clear in appearance. The laboratory analyses did not establish the presence of oil products above the applicable standards in the samples examined. The results give grounds to conclude that there was no pollution with oil products as a result of the incident.
The results of the laboratory analyses were also evaluated in view of the distance between the scene of the incident and the sampling points. Deviations in individual physicochemical indicators have been identified in the Sozopol region, but they cannot be linked to the incident, given the distance of the point - approximately 150 km from the location of the damaged ships and the findings from the on-site inspection.
The Ministry of Environment and Water continues to monitor the state of marine waters and will take the necessary actions if there is data on environmental risk.